


December 21st: River

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Bittersweet, Family, M/M, Romance, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-02 11:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16785808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: Christmas seemed like the perfect time.





	December 21st: River

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [FA_ProfilersForChristmas2018](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/FA_ProfilersForChristmas2018) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
>   
> River by  
> Joni Mitchell
> 
> https://youtu.be/GpFudDAYqxY

Jack made sure the laces of his skates were tied tight before standing and hobbling to the frozen lake. He’d been planning this for months, bringing Toby here and showing him the things he’d done as a kid.

=

_“Hey, Tobe?” Jack leaned over the couch. “How would you feel about going to Virginia for Christmas?”_

_“Won’t it be cold?” The blonde-haired man smiled. He’d been raised in the hot and dry desert, so the idea of a white Christmas was a fantasy._

_“You’ll survive. I have it all planned out what I want to do.”_

_“Already?”_

=

Jack had called his dad and told him he was coming home for the holiday and that he was bringing a friend. His dad had teased him a bit, but Jack had assured him it wasn’t like that. When they’d arrived in Virginia and Aaron had seen Toby at Jack’s side, his eyes had widened slightly but he’d said nothing.

Now, the older man was sitting on a bench on the edge of the lake, watching the two much younger men try and skate.

=

_“I know Christmas is always rough, Jack-”_

_“Dad, I invited him here and it had nothing to do with Mom, okay? Not really anyway. There’s something though that I do want to talk to her about when I go visit.”_

_“Okay, Jack.”_

=

Toby felt himself start to slip, but hands caught his arms and steadied him. “Thanks.” He beamed at his friend. “I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact we’re out here above real water.”

Jack grinned back. “I’ve got you, don’t worry.” He kept hold of his friend as they slowly made their way across the ice. “There’s something I wanted to say to you.”

“Out here where I can’t get away?”

“Something like that.”

=

_“Mom, I know you told Dad to show me how to be happy and you told him to show me what love was, and he’s done a good job, so don’t think he hasn’t. I was sad for a really long time that you weren’t here to be with us at Christmas, but… But I don’t think I’m going to be sad about it anymore, not like before. I’ll still miss you and I’ll still wish you were here, but I’m an adult now, running my own company, and I just…” He sniffled. “There’s someone I want to tell you about.”_

=

_“Dad?”_

_“Yes, Jack?” Aaron turned to give his son his full attention._

_“In all the stories you’ve ever told me about Mom, you and Mom, there’s one I don’t remember ever hearing.”_

_“What one’s that?”_

_“When did you ask her to marry you?”_

_Aaron blinked a moment. “It was winter…” He began._

=

Jack glanced around nervously, slipping one hand down to take Toby’s. “I know you know this time of year’s always been a bit hard for me, I lost my mom close to Christmas and… you’ve been a big help getting me through it all since I’ve moved and… thank you for that.”

Toby tilted his head to the side. “Always, Jack. You’re important to me and I want to be there whenever you need someone.”

“I know.” He licked him windblown lips, glancing toward the bank before glancing back to Toby.

“What is it?” A smile flitted across his lips.

“I know we really only just admitted to one another over the summer what we mean to each other, but we’ve known each other, and, in a way, we’ve been together for years, so something inside me said it was right and I wanted to ask you….”

=

Aaron got briefly distracted by a rabbit looking for a place in the snow to burrow, the boys…men… we just standing out on the ice talking anyway. As fast as the rabbit appeared and vanished again, Aaron brought his attention back to the ice, to the young men standing a little closer together than he remembered seeing them before. He watched them move almost as one as hands cupped cheeks, pulling one another close and then it happened.

=

Jack was certain time stopped when Toby’s lips pressed to his for a long minute before pulling away just a fraction. “So, is that a yes?”

Toby smiled. “Yes, Jack, our first kiss is a yes. I wouldn’t go and have our first kiss and then tell you no.”

“Is it weird our first kiss was after I asked you to marry me?”

He shrugged. “Not to me. We’ve doing everything in our own time and our own way. We got to know one another, got to be best friends, and even dated a while I suppose before we even admitted we liked each other.” He pressed their lips together again. “But I would love to marry you, just tell me when and where.”

=

Aaron didn’t say a word until everyone was back home and changed for bed. He’d hoped Jack would explain what he’d see out on the lake, but so far, his son had remained mum. He could hear the pair whispering in Jack’s bedroom as he knocked. “Jack, could you come to my room when you have a minute?”

“Yeah, Dad.”

Aaron retreated and waited until his son appeared. “Please, close the door?”

Jack had asked Toby about officially telling the older Hotchner together, but the blonde had pressed him to tell him ono his own, saying they could tell the rest of the world together. “Dad… I… Toby and I are together…” He’d never admitted to his dad that he was gay, he knew he wouldn’t care, but it would make him sad he hadn’t told him sooner. “We only admitted on the Fourth of July that we liked each other but, looking back, we’ve technically been together a lot longer.”

“I see.”

“Today I… I asked him to marry me.”

A lump stopped him from speaking so he just nodded, picking up the thing he’d been searching for. “I suspected as much. I’m happy for you, both of you. I have always liked Toby.” He held out his hand. “I want you to have this, between you, you can work out who has this one.”

Jack took the item from his Dad’s hand. “A ring… This was your wedding band from… From Mom.”

“Yeah. I wore it a long time, even after she’d died.”

“I know.”

“I have her rings as well, I’d saved the set in case you wanted them but… There’s a place in the city that can take the stones and set them into different bands, you could use it however you want, I saved them all for you.”

“I…” Jack wasn’t sure what to say. “I knew you’d be okay with me being gay but… I guess I wasn’t expecting you to be okay with me being engaged to Toby so soon.” He stepped up to his dad and hugged him. “Thank you, Dad.”

“I’m proud of you, Jack. Who you’ve become, what you and Toby have worked so hard to build, you both deserve to be happy.” A sound near the door made him turn, seeing the other young man hovering nearby. “Congratulations, Toby.” He waved him in, hugging him as well. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you, and I’m glad to be a part of it… Dad.”


End file.
